Chapter 443 Meeting With The Capital Delegates [Pt 2]
'This kinda sucks…'
The discussion between the students and the Guildmaster was simply a rehash of the details shared among the Heroic Rank Adventurers, so there wasn't really anything new for Rey to gain from the whole thing.
'I'm sure Adonis feels the same way…' After all, they were both present for the previous meeting.
However, unlike Adonis, he couldn't afford to zone out or look uninterested. These were all pretty important and epic things that the Guildmaster was talking about—enough to elucidate reactions from anyone present.
And so, to play his part… he had to react.
'Even if I plan on revealing my Ralyks persona eventually, the same doesn't apply to the Jet one.' He couldn't afford to act anything less than surprised.
It was also the major reason why he chose to participate in this meeting instead of just sending a duplicate.
'Alicia complained about my weird behavior when I swapped back early this morning. I'm guessing the duplicate isn't very good at replicating my behavior.'
At least, he could make up excuses and get away with acting unnaturally during casual moments, but in a serious event like this… he couldn't afford to slack off.
"Are you sure the Miasma Poisoning issue will be properly taken care of during the Conquest?" Alicia asked a valid question.
If she was present during the Heroic Rank Meeting, she wouldn't have needed clarification. But, her ignorance on the issue forced the Guildmaster to reiterate some things.
'Urgh! This is so frustrating…'
It sucked to listen to the same boring thing twice, especially when he could have been hanging out with Esme as a better alternative.
"How about checking their equipment before allowing them to participate in the Dungeon? That way we can ensure that only those who won't be susceptible to the Poisoning make it inside."
Once again… a brilliant question.
But, Rey felt tempted to shake his head at the sheer level of ignorance she was displaying.
'I know it's not her fault, but it's pretty obvious she doesn't really know a lot about Adventuring and Adventurers.'
He felt bad for thinking that way about Alicia, especially given his high regard for her. He would have probably been the same way if he didn't experience a lot of things as Jet—including having Noah explain a lot of the Adventuring stuff to him.
'Not to talk of my conversation with Rebal before coming here…' All of those really helped him in adjusting to life here.
'Ahh, now I feel worse.'
To drown out his thoughts, he forced himself to listen to the rest of Richard's response.
"… Besides, it's impossible to fully inspect nearly ten thousand Adventurers before we begin the Conquest. I understand your concerns, but they know what they're getting into."
Alicia finally gave up and nodded, causing Rey to sigh in relief.
"In any case, from what you have told me… you plan on joining Parties in the Conquest, is that right? Have you decided on the ones to join, or do you need me to recommend some to you?"
Much to the Guildmaster' surprise, though, they refused his offer.
"We were already approached by Adventurers and we've joined Parties. Thank you for the offer, though."
"Ahh, I see…" The man chuckled as he smiled slyly. "You're very thorough, aren't you?"
He seemed impressed that they had already embedded themselves into the Adventurers City without any of his assistance in the slightest.
"I have a question, Guildmaster." Someone raised her hand, and the moment Rey heard the voice he had a bad feeling.
It was Belle—going by Fiona in her disguised form.
"Yes, Miss Fiona. What is your question?"
Rey didn't know why, but his heart began to race in dark foreboding. He sensed something deadly about to erupt, but he didn't know what it was.
This feeling was different from [Danger Sense]. It felt more intuitive… more natural.
It was—
"Do you know who Sir Ralyks is? Where can I find him? Is he around? Do you have any idea about the investigation he went on?"
As she blabbed on, several groans echoed from the audience.
Belle hadn't properly spoken since the night that they lodged into the Inn, and since then she had been acting all mopey and glum.
To think the first coherent words she would make after so long would be on the same issue! Many people were fed up, Rey most of all.
'This girl should just let it rest.' He thought to himself, feeling a surge of anger towards the main culprit behind all of this drama.
'Ater… just you wait.'
He gritted his teeth and held his breath while waiting for the Guildmaster, who cocked his head to the side, to ask the most obvious question.
"Who… is Sir Ralyks?"
Everyone and their mother already knew that Ralyks was an alias that was being used by an anonymous person. The only thing they knew about him was that he was an Adventurer, and that was because he said that.
If his identity was so easy to decipher, then the Royal Council would have done so already.
'Belle is even aware of this, so why is she asking?!'
Perhaps the girl was just that desperate to talk to Ralyks, making her too hopeful—almost to the point of being delusional
—that somehow the Dark Adventurer's identity would be revealed to her if she just asked.
Well, she was in for a rude awakening.
"W-well, I mean… he is… erm… ah… never mind."
Thankfully, this episode of Belle didn't last very long, and while the atmosphere was a little tainted by the weirdness for a while… it didn't last very long.
"A-anyway, thank you all so much for answering our call." The Guildmaster rose to his feet, a subtle sign that told everyone present that they had overstayed their welcome.
Much to Rey's relief, everyone was able to take the hint, and they all rose up to leave.
"It's fine." Adonis responded with his usual charm, his aura finally killing off the last vestige of awkwardness in the air.
"Save the thanks for after the Conquest is successful."
*
Chapter 444 An Issue Of Priority
"Huu… I forgot to ask how they managed to get here in the first place."
As Richard collapsed back on his seat, he muttered words to himself while allowing the faces of everyone he just met to burn into his memory.
This way, he wouldn't be able to forget them no matter where they met in the future.
'They're all strong and capable. That man especially… Sebas….' Richard pictured the handsome man in his mind.
'He has the aura of a leader!'
More than anything, Richard desired to pick him as his successor. He could already tell that the man was more than capable of it.
'Should I talk to him about it? Try to make him a sweet offer, maybe?' He shook his head as his wry smile widened.
"Nah, that would definitely piss off the Royal Council. I shouldn't try to poach such an asset of theirs—especially when I'm trying to establish good relations with them."
Still, it was such a shame.
'Having someone like that to bridge the gap between Adventurers and the Alliance… wouldn't that be something?'
Richard decided to stop thinking about it, else he would be tempted to throw caution to the wind and ask the man anyway.
'I suppose my options have now been cut down to four potential candidates.'
Out of those four, he already singled Lux out due to her passive attitude. Britta was also very hot-headed and brash, lacking a lot of the emotional maturity that made a great leader, so she was out as well.
'I mean, there's a reason why I still didn't consider her for the position when she was the only competent around.'
That left two real choices; Jet and Sherlock.
'Sherlock is still too young, but he has a lot of potential. If I start early, I could groom him into a capable leader.'
However, considering how uncertain life was—especially the life of an Adventurer—Richard wasn't sure if he would have enough of it to properly mold the boy.
'I suppose that leaves Jet as the optimal choice…'
Sure, the man was enigmatic, but he was already well-received by most of the Adventurers. His fame and power was nothing to sneeze at.
'Plus, he has the will of Zephyr in him.' Guildmaster Richard nodded as he remembered how he heard the loud declaration of the lad's dreams.
'I suppose the final decision will be made after the Conquest.' He smiled widely and felt himself drift into unconsciousness.
**********
[Meanwhile]
"You're back, huh? That was quick…"
As Rey opened his eyes, he found himself staring at Esme's face.
It was so close to his—about only an inch or two apart. The moment he finally processed what was happening, he became so startled that he nearly jumped out of the room that his current body occupied.
"The hell?! What did you do that for?"?Rey yelled, already creating some distance between himself and the girl who simply stared at him.
"H-how long have y-you been standing there for?!"
His face was very hot, and the dark mask covering it didn't help in the slightest. He also found himself stuttering, which further showed how flustered he was.
"Not too long ago." Esme shrugged, almost as if the whole thing wasn't that big a deal. "I got bored waiting and wanted to see if I could remove the mask and take a peek."
She sighed and walked towards her bed, collapsing on it in one swift downward motion.
"Y-you what? And you're admitting it just like that?"
"Why would I lie about something like that? I've been begging you to show me for some time now, yet you won't."
"S-still! Why am I even flustered? It's not like you could have succeeded!"
"Oh? You sure about that?" Esme made a smug look, rubbing her hands together. "I think I was pretty close back there. You just had to show up."
The truth was, Rey's original body never left the room. Instead, he simply shared his senses with his duplicate through their connection.
Unfortunately, anytime he did this, his main body couldn't really do anything. He only had one mind, after all.
"I'm have tons of passive protection, so you wouldn't have been able to pry open the mask no matter how hard you tried!" Rey said, folding his hands.
Despite saying that, a creeping fear popped into his mind. 'What if she found a way around that?!'
"I think I could have found a way around that." As if reading his mind, Esme replied with a smirk.
Her unfounded confidence was driving him crazy.
"Well, joke's on you. You're not even sure it's my real face that's under the mask right no—"
"It is."
Esme's swift response had an aura of seriousness about it despite her smile. She seemed to have a sense of certainty.
It scared Rey.
"Pfft! That's… there's no way you could know for sure."
"Well, I just do. I have no doubt that the face speaking to me from behind the mask is your true one."
Rey felt his heart nearly jump out of his chest.
'S-she's not wrong. But… how can she be so sure?' He couldn't comprehend it.
"What makes you say that?"
For a moment, Esme said nothing. She placed a finger on her chin and looked at the ceiling for a moment, thinking about the question as if the answer was far away.
Then, forming a wider smile than before, she gave a big shrug and threw her arms up in the air.
"I don't know, Rey." She let out a slight giggle as she did so.
Rey thought it was quite cute—no, a lot more than that.
"I just feel like you could use whatever face you want to talk to me, without the mask on, yet for some reason… you always use it when we're alone."
Rey swallowed hard as he continued to hear her words.
His heart seriously raced because he knew she was arriving at the truth.
"Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe it's because you prefer being around me with your real face."
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